Current status of network outage

Working around the clock for more than four days, teams of engineers and experts coordinated by the Office of Information Technology have restored many key services following an outage that disrupted phone, web, wireless, and other network systems on all three campuses.

Aug 7, 2013

The outage occurred before dawn Saturday during a planned network shutdown to upgrade the system, and affected everything from faculty access to class rosters to student access to course materials.

"This prolonged outage was disruptive for our entire community — faculty, staff, students, patients, parents, and friends," said Provost Maria Pallavicini. "Yet people did their best. The President and I want to thank everyone for their patience and understanding."

Pallavicini also thanked OIT personnel, TSP staff, and members of the Pacific Alert Team for their hard work, and expressed her appreciation to the staff in the John T. Chambers Technology Center for hosting and supporting work crews throughout the outage.

"The professionalism and dedication exhibited by our OIT staff was exceptional," said Pallavicini. "They put in long days and nights to coordinate the vendors' work and find ways to expedite processes. This was a challenging incident for the University, and our staff rose to the occasion."

The outage occurred during a scheduled upgrade of network systems that was anticipated to last six hours. During the upgrade, compatibility issues arose between Pacific's systems and new hardware from outside vendors.

The prolonged outage temporarily shut down Sakai, Banner, and other key services. Some dental clinic appointments had to be rescheduled, and deadlines were extended for some academic and administrative submissions that required access to University websites and other network services.

The extended outage delayed implementation of the planned upgrades, which will now take place later this year.

Pallavicini emphasized that the system upgrades ultimately will enable the University to better fulfill its mission and serve students and faculty in Stockton, Sacramento, and San Francisco.

"Universities require increasingly more powerful systems for teaching and research," she said. "Pacific has excellent plans in place to ensure that we will continue to provide the bandwidth and speed that our students and faculty need to excel."